'Fight True' Tribute

By Stephanie

Flint-Genesee County Legal News

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A tree, plaque, and plantings were dedicated July 20 at Springdale Golf Course in Birmingham in memory of four late members of the “Fight True” golf group, a tight-knit collection of members of the Metro Detroit legal community. Among those posthumously honored were former Oakland County Prosecutor Tom Plunkett, who died of cancer last fall at the age of 78; Marvin Gershel, the father of Alan Gershel, head of the Attorney Grievance ­Commission in Michigan; Butzel Long attorney Mike Lavoie, who passed away in October 2016 at age 63; and attorney Tom Trenta, a vice president of Kelly Services when he died in 2009 at age 62.

Among those who offered tributes at the ceremony were Joe Papelian, who spoke glowingly of his longtime friend Tom Trenta, whose wife Pat now makes her home in California; Alan Gershel, who spoke from the heart about his father, a frequent “Fight True” visitor from New York City, where he worked in the Garment District for 50 years over the course of his sales career; emcee Tom Kirvan, who coordinated the memorial project; Mark Werder, who talked of the impact that Mike Lavoie made on the group and the charitable community at large; and U.S. District Judge David Lawson, who spoke of his treasured friend Tom Plunkett and the lasting legacy he left on the legal profession.